Wyoming Wrestlers Host UNC in Final Home Dual [AUDIO]

Five University of Wyoming wrestlers will take part in the last home dual of their careers on Wednesday as the Cowboys host conference foe Northern Colorado. We visited with All-American Shane Onufer on Sportsline Live one day ahead of his final showing in Laramie.

Onufer has a record of 128-23 which places him fifth in UW history in total wins. He is also a one-time All-America honoree.

Shane Onufer on Sportsline Live:

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

It’s been a great experience for me wrestling in the UniWyo and the Double A over these past few years. Tomorrow night I have a tough, top-ranked opponent. So I’m going out there and I’m going to wrestle as good as I can and show the fans a good show and go out on a high note.

It’ s been pretty cool this group of guys. We’ve stuck with it, we’ve seen a lot of coaches come and go, different teammates come and go and we stuck it out and it’s been great. It’s been awesome to wrestle next to these guys and it’ll be something I’ll always remember.

I’ve gotten to watch Coach Branch turn this program around. I’ve seen what a guy like him can do to change a program that wasn’t so well known or respected very well and it’s been great. I can’t say a bad thing about him. He’s an upstanding guy and a great coach. I don’t see him staying here for a long time.
-Shane Onufer

Prior to the 7 p.m. dual in the UniWyo Sports Complex, seniors Dallas Hintz, Joe LeBlanc, Michael Martinez, Shane Onufer and Chase Smith will be honored in a ceremony to thank them for their years of dedication. Each of the five seniors have eclipsed the 50-win mark for their careers, and three (Martinez, LeBlanc and Onufer) have 100 or more victories.

“This is a dual that has a lot of meaning for a special group of guys who have really put their stamp on the history of this program,” Wyoming coach Mark Branch said. “We want to send them out right. They’ve definitely had a huge impact on our wrestling program and my coaching stint at Wyoming.”

UW is currently undefeated in Western Wrestling Conference duals at 3-0 and have a 6-2 overall record. In the individual rankings, five Cowboy wrestlers are ranked in the latest InterMat poll. They include Martinez (18th, 125 pounds), redshirt freshman Zach Zehner (17th, 133), Onufer (third, 165), LeBlanc (first, 184) and junior Alfonso Hernandez (eighth, 197). UNC has one ranked wrestler in senior Gabe Burak, who is rated 11th in the nation at 165 pounds.